John Doerr

John Doerr is an influential American investor and philanthropist who has made substantial contributions to the business world and the venture capital sector. His investment successes over the years include Google and Amazon. He is also the co-founder of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins and co-author of the book ‘Measure What Matters’. This article provides an overview of John’s career and a summary of his book.

John Doerr was born in 1954 in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Rice University in 1977 and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1980. Doerr began his career at renowned venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins in 1980, and shortly after that, he established a new venture capital (VC) fund within the firm.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Doerr made several investments in start-ups, including Compaq and Sun Microsystems. In 1998, he made a large investment in Google, which turned out to be a lucrative move as the company went public in 2004 and achieved massive success. Doerr also invested in Amazon in 1998 and that too turned out to be a great investment as it turned out to be a hugely successful publicly traded company.

In addition to his success as an investor, Doerr has made important contributions to the venture capital sector. In 1998, he was instrumental in the passage of the US Small Business Investment Reporting Act. This legislation allowed VCs to legally report investment losses on their tax returns which enabled them to invest larger amounts in promising companies. This helped to bring more VC money into the market and has made it easier for start-ups to receive funding.

Doerr has also been involved in a number of other organizations including TechNet, the Markle Foundation, and Google.org. As a philanthropist, he has donated millions to organizations such as the California Academy of Sciences and the Rainforest Action Network and has been recognized for his work, receiving several awards including the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000 and the Philanthropy Leadership award in 2019.

In 2018, Doerr unveiled his book ‘Measure What Matters’. It is a guide on how to implement Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) in order to measure performance and increase productivity in any organization. The book provides readers with a step-by-step, actionable process of setting OKRs that emphasizes the importance of self-management. Doerr also delved into the benefits of using OKRs, including improved goal setting, improved financial performance, and sharing of ideas more quickly within the organization. In ‘Measure What Matters’ Doerr applied a no-nonsense approach to making business operations more efficient.

John Doerr is a successful investor and philanthropist whose achievements in business and venture capital have made an impactful contribution to the industry. Throughout his career, he has embodied a spirit of risk-taking and innovation. His 2018 book ‘Measure What Matters’ provides an in-depth analysis of OKR principles and is an influential guide on how to make any organization’s operations go more smoothly.